Sensory Processing Disorder

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) affects a child’s brain, causing him or her to have difficulty in processing or using sensory input. Children with SPD may have issues with vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste and movement. They often have problems with body regulation, motor skills/coordination, and other abilities that affect how they play and how they interact at school. Children may also develop social/emotional issues related to SPD. You may notice sensory processing disorder in your child by itself or with other conditions such as ADHD, Autism, Spectrum Disorders, Pervasive Developmental Disorders or Fragile X.

At TIRR Memorial Hermann, we focus on children and teenagers getting back to the life they love. The team of Sensory Processing Disorder specialists includes a neuropsychologist and physical, occupational and speech therapists who work together to reduce deficits from SPD and improve the quality of your child’s life. Our team works together with you to develop a plan to meet the child’s lifestyle, and educational and personal needs.

The ability to learn even the simplest things and to behave appropriately is impaired when a child can’t understand the input received from his or her senses, such as:

Auditory – hearing

Vision

Olfactory – smell

Tactile – touch, pain, light, temperature and pressure

Gustatory – taste

Vestibular – state of balance, gravity, movement and changes in space

Proprioceptive – unconscious awareness of body parts in relation to movement of the muscles and joints about position, weight or pressure stretch, and changes in position in space

What are the Symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder?

The sensory difficulties vary along a continuum. A child with sensory integration disorder may show one or more of the following signs:

Fear related to sudden, high-pitched, or loud noises such as flushing toilets, vacuums, or clanking silverware